It's hard to believe that another year has almost ended and we're about to welcome 2015 in just a few more days! It's been a great year personally. My blog continues to thrive and has me looking forward to some changes in the coming year. I find myself blogging more and more about life, family, traveling, and hobbies rather than eco-friendly living. I hope you'll stay with me and share our families journey through life and I promise to still bring you some green living related posts. It's interesting to look back at the stats for the blog and see which posts were read most. Many of my older content (from 2010-current) still brings in many of you; but I wanted to share with you my top 10 posts from 2014! I left off the giveaway posts since those aren't really worth re-reading.
My top post of 2014 is one I'm quite proud of. As I continue to educate and share tips on cloth diapering (even though we haven't cloth diapered in several years), I felt it was important to share with you ... [ Read More ]

As a blogger, one of the most exhilarating and inspiring things to do is attend a blogging conference. Over the past 5 years I've been to several including a few BlogHers, Blissdom, Mom 2.0, and Type-A. Each one is different but I always take away something special from these events.
Why should you attend a blogging conference?
If you are serious about treating your blog like a business, it's a good idea to attend a conference. You'll learn some very valuable lessons about how to turn your blog into a business AND get paid for it. Each conference has different areas of blogging that they focus on in their sessions.
This year at Type-A there are some pretty exciting sessions. I'm especially interested in 1) The Hybrid Life - Juggling Blogging and Marketing Careers, 2) Stop Being Scared of Video, 3) Freelance Writing, and 4) Instagram. There are 3 days full of sessions, keynotes, panels, and receptions.
Another reason to attend a blog conference is to connect with ... [ Read More ]

Trekaroo? Superoo? What does that even mean?
Trekaroo is a family travel tips and review website that my friend Marissa introduced me too about a year ago. The site offers user submitted reviews of hotels and attractions in different cities around the US. Anyone can join and it's totally free!
A Superoo is a parent who joins the Trekaroo team to provide travel advice and help share the love of Trekaroo. Moms and Dads around the US who like to travel (alone or with their kids) are invited to access new hotels, attractions and special events so they can share these places with you.
Guess who is on the Superoo team for 2014-2015?? Me and about 100+ other moms and dads around the US. I am so excited to join the team and start sharing some of our adventures with you. If you've follow me for a while you know that we love to travel. Just this year we've been on a cruise to Cozumel and Grand Caymen. Last week we were in Palm Beach and next week the hubs and I are sneaking ... [ Read More ]

It seems like I haven't really spent much time on my own blog lately since I've been so super busy with work (Kelly's Closet) and writing for Tampa Bay Moms Blog. Some days I forget that I actually have a blog of my own to keep up.
Today I have decided to spend the weekend focusing some of my energy back here; I'm attending the Type-A conference in Atlanta. I bought my ticket ages ago and haven't even looked at the schedule of events that start tomorrow. All I know is that registration and breakfast start early - somewhere around 8am! That means I'll actually have to get up and get dressed before I normally wake up.
Let's talk travel for a minute. I absolutely LOVE to fly, but I don't love it so much when I'm flying standby out of Orlando when all the flights are overbooked. I also wasn't prepared for how busy the Orlando airport would be on a Thursday morning. I'm used to flying out of my tiny little Tampa airport where it takes me 15 minutes to get from my car to the ... [ Read More ]

Have you missed me? My last blog post was July 2nd! I should feel ashamed that I didn't touch my blog for the entire month, but honestly I feel so refreshed. I worked, took vacations, and had a lot of fun. Here are the Cliff Notes for my summer:
Disney World Orlando Staycation: Did I mention that we have season passes to the parks? We spent a few days in Orlando relaxing at our favorite resort, meeting Princesses, riding in race cars, and traveling to the moon! Of course we never really left Orlando but it was a lot of fun. To see a video of the new Jr. Ride-along <sponsored blogger event> at the Richard Petty Driving Experience in Orlando check out my YouTube channel. Bryce got to take a few laps around a real race track in a real race car.
Ichetucknee Springs Vacation: We went on our annual trip to Ichetucknee Springs and tubed down the river over the 4th of July. We stayed at our favorite Hideaway Cottages, ate smores, sat by the campfire, and this year we ... [ Read More ]

One of the joys of blogging is being able to go to blog conferences to see my virtual friends; the people I talk with and interact with on a daily basis but rarely get to see. My primary goal when planning these trips is to learn a few new skills but I always end up leaving with more friends than skills.
Blissdom is the perfect conference for blending my goal of learning a few new things and having a good time with friends. I've gone for the past 3 years and each time I leave with so much bliss. This years goal was to learn how to use my brand new DSLR camera. Blissdom always has an exciting photography tract and I knew this was a perfect time to learn.
Day one didn't disappoint. I met up with a large group of ladies for the annual Blissdom Photowalk around the Gaylord. I didn't know anyone going into the Photowalk aside from a few virtual friends I had met on the Facebook group. I met up with Jenn from Real Posh Mom who was new to this photography thing too. We mingled ... [ Read More ]

As we say goodbye to 2012 and welcome 2013 I wanted to share with you my most read blog posts of 2012 and a few of my hidden favorites. Surprisingly some are still popular from 2011.
Most Read Posts of 2012:
Green Smoothie Recipes - kale, spinach, and fruit in a smoothie? Yes, please!
Cloth Diaper Your Baby for FREE
How to Prepare an Emergency Kit with Cloth Diapers - a must-read post if you don't keep disposables in the house.
Handmade T-shirt Doggie Bed
Tips for Traveling with Cloth Diapers
10 Ways You Can Become a Cloth Diaper Advocate - you know the post where I got a cloth diaper tattoo!
How to Store Cloth Diapers - some tips for storing diapers for future children.
How to Cloth Diaper Your Baby for only $50
My Personal Favorites:
Spiderman Hello Kitty Birthday Invitation Tutorial - my little girl will be 4 on the 4th of January.
Upcycled Tshirt Wreath
Dear Underpaid Grocery Story Employee - a humorous rant on shopping with kids! ... [ Read More ]

Are you attending your first (or fifth) blog conference soon? In 2010 I packed my bags and headed off to my first blog conference. I had never met any other bloggers. I didn't really even know a lot of bloggers. I showed up in New York City and just about left in tears after the first hour. Yes, really I did...you can reread my post, What BlogHer Meant to Me, to hear the full story.
That was nearly three years ago and I still get intimidated at blogging conferences. I've been to 2 BlogHer's and 2 Blissdom conferences and I still get butterflies in my tummy at the thought of this trip. Why?
There will be over 4500 women (and a few men) in attendance at this year's BlogHer. That's a LOT of women. Women have been known for our catty attitudes. We've been know to be clique-ish. We've been known to be rude and well...just plain mean! So how do avoid all the nasty stuff and not go home crying on the first day?
Blog Conference Survival Tips
Follow the #blogher12, ... [ Read More ]

A few days ago I challenged you to make a Pledge to Go Green in 2012. My first challenge was to set a goal for yourself and to write it down. I promised that I would come back and share my own goal with you, so here it goes...
My Green Pledge for January: To share more eco-tips with each of you on a regular basis. Don't I already do this? My blogging habits have not been the healthiest and I often feel like my blog is messy and unorganized. Probably because that is my style and who I am. But I'm setting my own goal for January to become a more organized blogger and that begins with creating an editorial calendar! I have thought about this for over a year and I'm finally implementing it. Guess what? It doesn't stop with writing it down either. I researched editorial calendars and I've printed one off - it's sitting right in front of me! I even have January filled in with ideas and plans. I have so many ideas and plans that February is almost full too.
I found a great ... [ Read More ]

Eco-Fantastic Fan Celebration with The Eco Chic!
We're only 4 days into 2012 and it's been a great year so far! In addition to my Lil' B turning 3, I reached a new goal on Facebook with over 3,000 fans this week. In honor of all the fun I thought it was only appropriate to hold a celebration of sorts! I reached out to some of my favorite sponsors, companies and friends and they leaped at the opportunity to spoil you.
Starting today I'm holding an Eco-Fantastic Fan Celebration Sweepstakes on Facebook. Included in the sweepstakes are lots of eco-friendly, cloth diapering, and blogger inspired goodies that I will be giving away to ten lucky fans. You can enter the Sweepstakes once each day per Facebook account and can earn extra entries into the sweepstakes by "Liking" our fantastic sponsors pages and by sharing the sweepstakes with your friends (you actually earn one extra entry for each friend who you personally get to enter!).
Let's talk about the prizes:
One ... [ Read More ]

Meet Calley

Hey y'all! I'm Calley and I'm glad you found my blog. I'm a Tampa mom and influencer. I love to write about my family, local events and happenings, DIY projects, traveling and so much more! I'm also a cloth diaper educator and social media manager. Pass the coffee please. Looking for @TheEcoChic? This is still me, just a new name!read more...

Hey y'all! I'm Calley and I'm glad you found my blog. I'm a Tampa mom and influencer. I love to write about my family, local events and happenings, DIY projects, traveling and so much more! I'm also a cloth diaper educator and social media manager. Pass the coffee please. Looking for @TheEcoChic? This is still me, just a new name. Pass the coffee please.